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It’s a busy week ahead as I head to Amsterdam to preview their art week and I’m back in town to host a talk on the 30th before diving into London Gallery Weekend.
Thanks to those who responded to last week’s poll and it turns out you liked the King Charles portrait more than I did with 50% of responses saying ‘love it’, only 5% ‘loathe it’, and 45% were not fussed, choosing ‘meh’.
This week I’ve written:
A review of 2 exhibitions at Houghton Hall in Norfolk,
Beautiful paintings on the shores of Lake Como by Nancy Cadogan,
Thanks as always for keeping tabs on me, and have a great week ahead.
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Tab’s World
My latest articles and events for your reading pleasure.
My top 5 this week stretches across museums and galleries, inside and out of London. What unites them is the exhibitions are all closing soon so get to them quick if you want to catch them.
There’s a double header of exhibitions at Houghton Hall in Norfolk and you can find out what I thought of both Magdalene Odundo and Antony Gormley’s works in my piece for FAD.
I’ve written about Nancy Cadogan’s timeless paintings on the shores of Lake Como for FAD - perfectly suited for their location.
I’ve been announced as a judge for the Summer Exhibition in Crawley and you can find out how to apply here. Applications can be sent in until 1 June.
Plus, catch up on editions of my new bonus newsletter for paid subscribers, including:
The top art podcasts to brighten your commute
Impressive Expressionism at Tate Modern
Cheer Up Luv: The platform where art meets activism
Ranjit Singh: The Lion of the Punjab - Weapons, art and gold at the Wallace Collection
Click below to see all the subscription options, and a big thank you to everybody who’s supporting the newsletter already - couldn’t do it without you!
Tab’s Weeks Ahead
Highlighting my top events for the weeks ahead. Let me know if you'd like to join me!
I’ll be hosting a talk at Silian Gallery in Chelsea and there will be a performance as well, so please do join me. Thursday 30 May, 6-8pm - free, registration required.
With London Gallery weekend coming up I will be spending the Friday in Central London including going to the UP projects performance (2pm, free and ticketed), before then going on to other galleries. Do get in touch if you’d like to join me. Friday 31 May, 2pm onwards.
Sticking with London Gallery weekend I’ll be aiming to follow their programme this Saturday as it’s the designated South London day. My plans aren’t fixed yet but I’ll be starting with Copperfield’s 10 year anniversary exhibition / party and all are welcome to join me, just drop me a line (or DM me on Substack) and I'll share the full itinerary with you so you can drop in at any point throughout the day. Saturday 1 June, 11am-6pm.
Londonist is turning 20 and to celebrate we’re having a party and you’re all invited. It’s ticketed and that includes two drinks, plus a chance to meet the wonderful team behind Londonist. Wednesday 12th June, £15.
The Wider Arts
Here are my top picks of culture that may be enjoyed from the comfort of your home. Paid subscribers have access to my full back catalogue of recommendations.
HISTORY NOVEL: Guns, germs and steel by Jared Diamond is a deeply fascinating, and dense, read on how the world turned out how it is - why European diseases killed those in the Americas and not vice versa and why the agricultural revolution moved faster in Eurasia than on other continents. The links go through to my online bookshop and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
HORROR MOVIE: Eva Green is great in Nocebo as the fashion designer plagued by an illness and visions, before a Filipino nanny moves in and things start to get even stranger in this psychological horror. On Netflix.
PERIOD DRAMA (SERIES): Shogun is a slow paced drama set in feudal Japan as a British sailor gets tangled up in regional politics, and the fight for power between local warlords. It looks spectacular and it’s well acted, even if the ending feels a little anticlimactic. On Disney+.
Articles I’m Reading
Interesting stories that I recommend, largely from beyond the art world. If you fancy reading offline at another time, I recommend the app Pocket.
This is a selection of articles I found thought-provoking in one way or another; opinions expressed in the articles don’t necessarily reflect my own views or those of Londonist. Paid subscribers have access to my full back catalogue of recommendations.
HISTORY: Truly Adventurous tells us the story of the World’s Most Famous Female Pirates (22 minute read) and BBC sheds a light on Gulbadan Begum: The epic voyage of a daring Mughal princess. Business Insider looks at How the Black aristocracy of the Gilded Age ushered in a new era of education and freedom (4 minutes) and Politico sheds light on Russia’s slaughter of Indigenous people in Alaska (17 minutes). Going much further back The Conversation looks at War in the Time of Neanderthals: How Our Species Battled for Supremacy for Over 100,000 Years (4 minutes).
BOOKS: What's the Future of Books? Asks Esquire in a 4 minute read and The Hustle looks at the murky maths of the New York Times bestsellers list (11 minutes). The Independent looks back on Carrie at 50: the bloody history of Stephen King’s audacious debut novel (8 minutes), Mental Floss highlights 11 Lesser-Known Fairy Tales (8 minutes) and Collectors Weekly takes us to Scarfolk, the Most Spectacular Dystopia of the 1970s (7 minutes). One of the down sides of being an avid reader is not knowing how to pronounce words and Guardian has us covered (2 minutes).
SPACE: JStor looks at How Mars Lost Its Magnetic Field—and Then Its Oceans (4 minute read) and switching back to our planet Popular Science asks why the heck is Earth wet? (5 minutes). Esquire shares How to Survive Isolation, According to an Astronaut (9 minutes) and in one my favourite long reads on space, which I’ve shared before, is the hunt for planet nine - 37 minutes on Longreads.